A group of activists hold a rally as Google held their annual shareholders meeting in Mountain View, Calif., on Wednesday, May 14, 2014. The various groups, including Public Citizen's U. S. Chamber Watch, Forecast the Facts, Eviction Free San Francisco and Common Cause California were calling on Google to lead on climate change, increase political spending transparency and treat its workers with respect. (John Green/ Bay Area News Group)

Prodded by the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Google said Wednesday that it will reverse a long-held stance and reveal publicly how many minority workers are employed by the giant Internet company, in a report next month.

"We're working very hard. We're not doing enough and we can do better," said David Drummond, the company's chief legal officer, after Jackson attended Google's annual shareholder meeting and urged top executives to provide more opportunities for blacks, Latinos and other minorities.

The iconic tech company's annual meeting was ground zero for Jackson and a host of other activists who used Wednesday's event to raise concerns about a grab bag of issues -- some specific to Google and others that apply to the tech industry more broadly.

Before Jackson spoke about the low number of minorities in Silicon Valley's executive suites and boards, a small crowd rallied in front of Google headquarters to protest the company's ties with conservative business groups, such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, which have angered environmentalists by opposing alternative energy and climate-change rules.

Protesters also represented labor groups advocating for guards employed by private security contractors at tech companies. Tenant advocates protested about evictions they blame on affluent tech workers driving up rents in San Francisco and East Bay neighborhoods.

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Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt said the company would consider the complaints. But a shareholder vote -- dominated by the company's two founders -- rejected several proposed resolutions calling for Google to disclose more details about its political lobbying, end financial maneuvers that avoid billions in corporate taxes and reduce the power that CEO Larry Page and co-founder Sergey Brin wield as controlling shareholders.

Brin and Page together hold 55.7 percent of Google's stock voting rights, thanks to a complex share structure that ensures their control over the company they started in 1998.

Jackson's appearance followed similar visits the veteran civil rights leader made to Hewlett-Packard and eBay this spring. He's urging Silicon Valley to hire and promote minority executives, citing studies that show blacks and Latinos are vastly underrepresented among high-level tech bosses and board members.

Google has three female directors, and Drummond, the company's fourth-highest paid officer, is black. Drummond said Google is working with historically black colleges to improve their computer-science programs, but he acknowledged, "We need to do a lot more."

Along with other valley companies, Google has balked at divulging its minority hiring statistics, arguing that the information is a competitive secret. "We've come to the conclusion that we're wrong about that," Drummond said.

Other speakers urged Google to disclose more details about its financial support of groups like ALEC. They noted that Google has endorsed environmental causes and invested hundreds of millions of dollars in alternative energy projects, while ALEC has prodded state legislatures on behalf of utilities and businesses that oppose alternative energy.

Drummond said Google funds groups that share its views on specific issues, such as open Internet access, even if they disagree elsewhere. Page, who suffers from a voice ailment, spoke only briefly at the meeting.